School Profile

John C. Burroughs Elementary School is a Chicago Public School. It is one of several elementary schools in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the city's southwest side. We partner with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council to be a community school. It was constructed in 1893. Throughout its 124-year history, the school has developed a rich tradition of excellence in education, provided in a stable, caring environment. Several generations of families residing in this neighborhood received their elementary education at the Burroughs School. The school’s academic program provides a solid basic education complemented by a range of classroom enrichment and extracurricular activities.​Burroughs School offers a comprehensive education from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The faculty is committed to nurturing the overall growth of each student through academic excellence and emotional support. Its highly energized and dedicated staff works hard to help the students experience success in learning. We are committed to providing and developing an environment where school and community work together to foster student achievement so that our students can attain and exceed national norms and academic standards. We offer social work services to our students and we also have a Campus Park.

Students are grouped by ability for reading and heterogeneously in other areas. Cross-curricular activities facilitate a greater understanding and appreciation of the subject matter. In addition to a strong emphasis on the basics, the Burroughs School curriculum offers a number of enrichment activities such as art appreciation and physical education. The combined efforts of staff and students has led to a steady rise in the number of students meeting or exceeding state standards in reading and math on the NWEA and PARCC.

Burroughs has had a longer school day with more instruction for many years and we are now aligned with the district-wide extended seven-hour school day. Additionally, we offer a number of academic and enrichment activities to the Burroughs School community. We have a rich and expansive assortment of classes, from ESL to aerobics, for adults every evening until 8:00 pm that are offered through the Burroughs-BPNC Community School.

Because Burroughs believes that parents are the child’s primary educators, we encourage parental involvement at all levels – whether it be serving on the Local School Council or working with individual teachers to ensure the child’s progress and well-being. Working together, students, teachers, and parents form a community in which children can learn and thrive.